


Beyond the Stars

by SleepyToucans



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Ancient Technology, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Dimension Travel, Disturbing Themes, Drama, Fantasy, Feminist Themes, Gen, Implied Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Interplanetary Travel, Kingdom of Hyrule, LGBTQ Themes, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, Magic and Science, Medieval Medicine, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Locations, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Originally Posted on deviantART, Psychological Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Transported to another world, Warped to another world, World Travel, Years Later, Years after original, mature themes, philisophical
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyToucans/pseuds/SleepyToucans
Summary: A bright flash of light whisks unwitting passengers into another world. Mariah wakes up to find that if she wants to live to tell the tale, she has to cooperate with her fellow survivors and use everything within her. And along the way, she meets a mysterious man who may be friend or foe.
Kudos: 1





	1. Bon Voyage

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters and locations. All characters and locations original to this story belong to me. Also, this story is intended for a mature audience for coarse language, graphic violence and mature themes.

Far away, in the skies above Hyrule, there was a castle nestled in the clouds. A dark palace where the abominations of the Gods dwelt in sinister, watchful contemplation. Deep in the bowels of the castle keep, in a secluded chamber, there paced a pale wisp of a man in flowing robes. He wasn't terribly tall and his hair was as milk white as his sun deprived skin. And yet, despite the appearance of an old tired man, his face was rather youthful. At first glance, one could never tell that the young man was a master mage. The room was dark and foreboding. There were only two sources of illumination in the room. There was a candle on the man's intricately carved desk. It had been burning for a long time. What used to be a tall wax tower had been reduced to a melted stump. Yet the nervous man had not thought to put the candle out. Clearly something was occupying his mind.

The other source of incandescence aside from the candle is a brazier of hot coals heating a cauldron. The nervous magician finally fed up with walking his fears around his room made his way to his desk chair. Along the way he tramples a few old books and crumpled papers that had spilled onto the floor from the pile of books that blanket his desk. He slumps roughly onto his chair, brought his hands to his temples and tried to rub his stress away. He let out a deep, troubled sigh. "What am I missing?" He turned his head toward his desk and stared at the mass of pulped wood and leather. "How can I be so close, yet so far."

He slouched back and stared into the dark. In a vain effort to stimulate his mind, he ran his fingers through his chalk white locks and tried to sort out a complex equation in his head. His pensive reverie was interrupted by an impatient voice coming from a clearly impatient man. "Have you finished the spell yet, Vaati?" The pale mage turned his attention to a tall intimidating figure that filled his door frame. He stood up immediately and bowed to the man. "Not yet your majesty." He quivered. "Still working out the kinks…".

Vaati looked up toward the dark king. He was tall and wide. A looming tower of muscle and magic stood before the diminutive sorcerer. The king walked over to Vaati. The faint luster of the candle seemed to grow stronger in his presence as it danced over his broad features. He had burning red hair that seemed to flare up from the curls on his head to the beard on his chin in the coruscating flame. His gaze was as sharp as a razor's edge. His arms could crush a man wearing full plate armor and he commanded a presence that made proud men into children. Vaati stared into the angry glare of a man who seemed more like a demon than any man. "I have given you several months to complete this spell." He growled. Then he raised his voice into a rumbling shout. "There is no excuse as to why it is not done!"

"What do you want me to do? Vaati objected. Trying to control his frustrations so that he didn't anger the giant king. He hated boot licking. Especially to someone as pompous and dramatic as the man before him. What kept him from disobedience was the fact that The King's power was reputed throughout the land of Hyrule. He was not someone to refuse. Or worse…, insult.

He composed himself and put on his best humility. Well...most convincing humility. "My lord, reworking ancient spells takes precious time. Especially this one in particular."

The King looked down at Vaati. "What do you have so far?" He said flatly. Vaati went over to his desk and took a blank sheet of paper. He leafed through a few books and papers jotting down numbers to create a series of equations. He then took another sheet of paper. Using said equations, he created an almost perfect magic theorem that was missing a crucial value he could not solve for. When he had finished writing the page long spell he handed both the theorem and the reference page over to The King. The King then asked for a pencil.

As He began to write over Vaati's work, the magician stared at Him shocked and indignant. "Do you know what you're doing?" Vaati said, folding his arms. He could not hold back his frustrations any longer. "If I'm having difficulty with fixing the warp spell then what makes you think you can just scribble out the solution?" Is what Vaati wanted to say. The king cut him off with a swift motion to flash his solution in front of Vaati's face. "Test this." The King commanded succinctly.

Vaati stared at the solution with disbelief. He took the page from The King. "You want me to test whatever you wrote down on this paper?" He reaffirmed the command. The king nodded in affirmation. "You want me to test a random spell modification that you just jotted down. A modification that took me months to contemplate unsuccessfully. The same modification that you just handed to me?" The King nodded again. Vaati hated that look on His face. Smug, arrogant, the idea that he was wholly superior; Vaati himself often bore a similar expression to the people who dared to oppose him. He hated being on the receiving end. He hated being shown up even more. He bit his lip to try to contain his next outburst and took a look at the page. So far everything seemed to check out. He was impressed by the solution The King had come up with. He hated being impressed by something he failed to figure out. However, with a sigh, he relented. "All right, this way."

The tiny mage and the tall King made their way to a courtyard. It was small and empty, save for the pile of debris that littered the place. Vaati then held the spell paper out and began to recite the incantation. The clouds above roiled as the spell began to charge the air with raw magical energy. The wind began to bluster and whirl around Vaati. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and then the world went quiet.

After adjusting her eyes to the light, a young woman looked out on the morning-lit terminal of the airport. Her disheveled appearance gave the impression that she rushed out the door. She had messy charcoal hair that hung just above her shoulders in a bob cut and her clothes were wrinkled. She picked up her luggage and shoes from the airport security and took a look at her boarding pass.

Delta

Berkovich/Mariah

Flight: DL1080

Date: 7Sep

Class: W

Operated by: Delta Airlines Inc.

Origin: Baltimore

Destination: Paris

Departure gate: D10

Departs: 10:30 am

Seat: 17C

Zone: Sky

Mariah felt her pocket vibrate and instinctively reached into her pocket. She pulled a slim tablet and looked at the shiny surface of a cellular device. She had received a message from someone named Annie. _"Hey! I'm at Starbucks. Meet me there after you get through security."_ Mariah typed her response. _"Will do! I just got through security so I'll see you soon." She gathered up her luggage and backpack, and made her way to her departure gate._

The airport was like a living, breathing entity all on its own. As though they were blood in arteries, some people were trudging along to their destination. Others sped to wherever they needed to go, and a few drops wandered into shops and restaurants. White blood cells rode on golf carts throughout the building's veins. A lone janitor mopped the marble floor, taking care to ensure no one slipped on it or otherwise destroyed his hard labor. The terminal's eyes were gigantic, widening to be as wide as the walls and as tall as the ceiling just to get a good look at the dayspring sky. Despite the high volume of human occupants, the crowd was very organized thanks to all the directories posted around the area. Only one or two people seemed lost. The concourse kept itself impeccably clean and slick. It made up for its lack of color by adorning itself with advertisements, modern art and a scattering of plants.

After a while of searching, Mariah came across a Starbucks located outside her designated gate. Amidst the crowd was a strawberry blonde with her hair tied back into a bun. She kept her hair in place with ornamental pins and wore a black blazer over a white button-down shirt with a colorful scarf, along with jeans and black boots. A Gucci tote bag hung behind her on the chair she sat on. She had one leg crossed over the other and sipped a cup of coffee in one hand. In her other hand she pored over her phone. She didn't notice the world around her.

"Annie!" Mariah shouted, waving her free hand excitedly. She didn't notice the first time. Mariah cupped her hand and yelled louder. "Antoinette!"

Antoinette turned her head up to see her best friend trying to get her attention. She leapt up from her chair as Mariah came toward her to embrace her into a hug. "Hey! How've ya been? How was the ride up here?" She cheerfully inquired to Mariah.

"I'm okay. I'm pretty damn tired though." Mariah answered sluggishly. "I did my last minute cleaning and packing last night. I tried not to pack too many clothes so I could get some new ones locally. My parents kept trying to urge me to pack more and we kept arguing on what I should bring. I kept saying that I didn't wanna look like just another tourist. They kept saying it's all about how the outfit is put together." Mariah leaned back in her chair and gave a sigh of relief. "I'm so excited and nervous for school!"

"Dude, so am I! I kept telling my parents that I'd be ok." Annie cried. "I even promised that I would call whenever possible. They even made me agree to send photos just in case!" Annie laughed. There was a buzzing alert coming from her purse. After fishing her phone out from the bag, she checked the notification and looked up to Mariah. "We have about an hour left." Annie put her phone away. "In the meantime, why don't you tell me about how freaked out your parents got about our little trip?"

"Where to start?" Mariah joked. "Well this morning I did most of my packing last minute and my room was kind of a mess. It looked more like a tornado had gotten in to wreak havoc. You should have seen it Annie. The drawers were pulled out, the clothes were piled up in multiple places, and pens, pencils and draft papers were sprawled everywhere. I brought some of them with me." Mariah said, gesturing to a backpack she brought. Annie interjected. "You and your engineering papers." Mariah shrugged off her biting comment and continued. "Anyway, mom asked me multiple times if I was sure we would be ok multiple times. I think she was hoping we would change our minds about this."

Annie looked at her with a mock expression and inquired, "Are you sure you will be ok?" Mariah stuck her tongue out in response.

"Just because I'm a little nervous doesn't mean I'm not ready or excited for this trip. Especially since we arrive a week before school starts. We can explore the city. We also have your aunt and uncle looking out for us." Annie nodded in agreement. "She only calmed down when I promised to call regularly and send pictures."

"Thought sounds about right." Annie joked. "Plus, we speak the language and we have each other. No matter what, I've got your back." Mariah smiled at her friend. She appreciated Annie's statement and was glad for her presence. Mariah never admitted as much to her parents, but she was more than nervous about the trip then she let on. If not for Annie, she might have never decided to go abroad.

The two girls chatted away about the things they would do in Paris. The Champs-Elysees, the Latin Quarter, some of the shops and lesser known places they could learn about from Annie's relatives. Eventually the clock drew closer to departure. As they made their way to the terminal Annie tapped Mariah's arm. "Everything ok? You look nervous."

"Kind of." Mariah responded. "I guess I'm just nervous since I've never been outside of the country. I just can't shake the feeling that something will go wrong." Annie wrapped her arm across Mariah's shoulders and ensured things would be ok. They both boarded the plane and found their seats and began to wait for takeoff. Eventually the plane began to move and after making its way to the runway. Then the craft began to pick up speed and both girls began to feel the force of the plane pulling them deeper into their seats. The plane climbed to one thousand feet into the air. They passed the time by reading books. The plane climbed to four thousand feet. Then they decided to solve some pages in a puzzle book. Eight thousand feet. Eventually they decided to play chess together as the plane reached nine thousand feet. At ten thousand the intercom system began to ring.

"This is your captain, we are now at ten thousand feet. You are free to use your electronic devices in airplane mode. Beverages and snacks will be serv-" Before he could finish the plane began to shake. "We are experiencing some rough turbulence. Please remain calm and in your seats-" The plane began to violently thrash as the air began to crack. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning. A storm had suddenly formed around the plane. That couldn't be right. The skies were clear and the trip was supposed to be smooth. "Please make sure your seatbelts ar... fast …" One final flash of lightning seemed to strike the plane as the captain's voice began to fade away. Everything had gone white. Everyone was consumed by bright void and everything, even the world before seemed to be a distant dream.

Suddenly, the bright light began to fade. Sound and substance began to return to the world. First came the whistle of the wind through the trees. The leaves began to scratch the air as they shook against each other. The ground beneath their feet began to crunch and crinkle with every step from their boots. Finally, shadow returned to the world outlining the figures of Vaati and The King, the rubble in the courtyard, and the world at large. The two were silent longer than the world was as they comprehended what had transpired.

"What just happened?" The King asked after collecting his thoughts.

Vaati shrugged and tried to hide his own smug attitude. "I don't know." He was more than a little happy that the King's solution had failed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't the intended result." Vaati began to stride back to the castle. "Back to the drawing board."


	2. Crash

Mariah's world went pitch black. Her perception of time began to distort as space contorted and stretched around her. She felt like she was wandering in the void for ages until she saw a fleck of light. The particle gradually enlarged as blurry shapes started to form around it until it became something recognizable. It was a memory from back when she was five, spending the day at the Maryland Zoo with her mom and dad. From there on out, Mariah saw her life flash before her eyes. From her years in school, the friends she made throughout her life, her bat mitzvah, the time she graduated high school, the butterflies in her stomach when someone told her how he felt about her, the time when her uncle showed her how to repair a TV, and boarding the plane which would end up leading to her death. _Am I dead?_ Mariah asks herself. _How can that be if I'm thinking and …_ " Mariah then felt a twinge of pain in her head. Her muscles ached and her neck felt like a busted pipe. Mariah felt as though she was floating and spinning in zero-gravity. She was coming to her senses slowly but surely. She began to hear voices from the void. They sounded garbled, like they were speaking underwater. She felt fingers prying her eyelids open and she saw a bright light from her right eye to her left. Her vision began to come back into focus. What she was seeing was just a regular flashlight. As Mariah squirmed in the seat slightly, she felt very heavy. Her entire body ached yet simultaneously felt numb. She finally heard a voice clear as day, "Is she gonna be okay?"

It was Annie! Mariah felt her hand being squeezed as she heard another voice respond. "She's okay. Just knocked out. She bumped her head pretty badly, but there is no concussion or any other injuries." The voice droned on about Mariah's condition in a matter of fact way, the same way a professional doctor would.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Annie's question was curtly responded with, "There isn't anything wrong with her, she'll wake up momentarily. There are others who do need medical treatment. Please excuse me." Annie tried to convince the doctor to stay, but he wasn't having it.

All Annie could think to herself was; _What if she doesn't wake up? What if she has some kind of problem that you can't see?!_ She thought of the first time she met Mariah as her freshman roommate, bar hopping on New Year's Eve, the times they went to the school plays and musicals. She also remembered the time when Mariah let her stay with her parents when fleeing her ex-boyfriend and when she helped her get a restraining order against him. "Annie?" Antoinette turned to face Mariah and let out a huge sigh of relief. She gives her a hug and Mariah could feel the worry that had been building up at her expense washing away. Mariah still felt as though she was hit by a freight train and this wasn't helping to relieve her suffering. She didn't mind though and reciprocated Annie's embrace. After a bit, Mariah lets go and asks, "What happened?"

"We hit some rough air," Annie says somewhat quietly, "Then a bright light came out of nowhere…" She was starting to breathe heavily as she was speaking, "Then suddenly the wing was on fire!" She pauses for a moment. Mariah looked into her face and saw that she was on the verge of tears. "… Holy shit!" She finally musters to say. Mariah did the best she could to calm her friend down. After a few minutes Annie calmed down and continued, "I saw the whole thing through my window!"

Annie recounted the crash to the best of her memory. "After the blinding flash of light, everyone saw that the wing had caught fire. Everyone began to panic even as the pilot tried to calm everyone down and told us to brace for an emergency landing. That didn't stop anyone from freaking out though. We began to calm down as we prepared to land. The plane landed on some water to cushion the momentum before stopping at the lake's bank. Once the plane was planted on the shore, everyone got off the plane immediately – there were some people who were unconscious who had to be carried out."

Mariah cycled through terror, surprise, and relief in the span of a minute. She didn't know what to say, her head was still cloudy from her head trauma. With no words coming to mind, she simply hugged Annie closer. Mariah could feel Annie's relief oozing onto her as Annie trembled in her arms. Mariah felt the heat of her breath as breathed in and out to calm her nerves, with mixed results. Annie then asks, "Do you think everything's going to be okay?"

"I hope so," Mariah replies, "I can't say for sure though." She was terrified. She had never been in a situation like this before. Mariah was used to coming up with solutions a thousand miles per hour. But now her mind was blank. She wasn't sure what was worse: Surviving a plane crash in the middle of God-knows-where or not being able to see a way out of the predicament. She looked around at the other passengers. Everyone was panicking. "I don't think that the majority of us have any survival skills… or knowledge on the wilderness. Oh crap… Wait… we should in Pennsylvania. There should at least be a town nearby that could help us out."

Annie perks up at this. "Hey, you just gave me an idea! We should call nine-one-one and have someone rescue us!" She scrambles for her phone in her purse along with several other people who had the same idea.

"This is weird, I'm not getting any signal," someone says. Mariah searched through the crowd to find the pilot, hoping that maybe he had answers. When she found him, he was trying to calm the crowd. Mariah maneuvered her way through the throng to him. She found a particularly vocal group surrounding him, bombarding him with the same questions over and over again.

"What happened?"

"What's going on?"

"Where are we?"

"What will happen to us?"

"Will we be okay?"

Mariah watched the pilot try to answer their questions. The co-pilot tried to help answer their questions the best he could, the questions kept coming at them like a tsunami however. The flight attendants attempted to assuage the crowd's fears, but to no avail. They were doing an admirable job considering how astronomically rare an event like this was. Mariah walks back toward Annie, who was pacing around frantically – still holding onto her phone. Annie suddenly stops and looks toward Mariah, "Find out anything?"

Mariah shakes her head. "Nada. I went to try and see what was up. There was a crowd that was asking the same questions over and over before the pilot and the co-pilot could even answer." Mariah could see Annie tense up at this. She looks blankly at Mariah, then she looks at the ground and starts tearing up. Mariah puts her arm over her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry. I'm sure everything will turn out okay." Mariah tried thinking up of ways they could alleviate their stress, but nothing came to mind.

Annie looks at her and asks, "H-how?"

Mariah stares blankly. She did not know how she could answer such a simple question. All she knew was that they were stranded somewhere in the United States, her friend was panicking, and she was developing a migraine – which was distracting her from coming up with any kind of meaningful solutions. All she could manage was a shrug and an, "I'm not sure."

Suddenly the pilot calls out, "May I have your attention everyone?"

The crowd's volume rapidly died down and the co-pilot continued, "As of present, we do not know our precise location, although we are positive that we are somewhere in Allegheny National Forest. We are also unsure of how exactly the airplane wing got damaged. What we can be certain of is we are out of commission for the time being since no one is responding to our radio signals. Fortunately, we have a radio beacon that still functions. What we will need to do is send out another signal and ration our remaining food. Once we set up the beacon all we have to do is wait patiently for the rescue team to arrive." He takes a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. "Everything will be fine. There is nothing to worry about."

Mariah wasn't entirely convinced that he believed that, though she chose to keep it to herself. Despite the extensive safety training the crew must have gone through, it was clear that they have never been in an actual crisis. Still, they were doing a remarkable job considering the circumstances.

She looked around at the other passengers and noticed that they were still on edge though trying to remain calm. It became more apparent with every passing second. Some people chose to relax by reading. Some people choose to immerse themselves in music. Others tried having conversations with other people, seeking comfort in the community. Mariah didn't do any of these things. She tried as hard as she could to distract herself, but to no avail. The throbbing sensation in her head intensified a bit and she instinctively rubs the left side of her head. Something was missing – something was making her jittery. It made her fidgety to the point where everyone around her was noticeably concerned by her conduct.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. "M?" It was Annie looking deeply worried, "Are you okay?"

Mariah broke from her uneasy reverie. "I… I don't know…" She responded at a loss for words once again. "I think I need to sit down and take some deep breaths." She bends down to sit criss-crossed on the ground.

Annie kneels next to her. "Do you need some Advil? I got some in my suitcase."

Mariah responds by nodding her head, Annie tells her to stay where she was, and she heads back inside the plane with a flight attendant. She came back within roughly five minutes with her baggage as well as Mariah's bookbag and duffle bag. "I figured I could get your stuff while I was in there," Annie says as she hands Mariah her bags.

"Thanks," responds Mariah. Curious as to how long it has been, she reaches into her book bag to claim her phone. After carefully pulling it out of its pocket, she gazes at its screen. There is a crack on the screen. Granted, it was very thin and barely noticeable. But it was still there. She realized that it must have appeared during the crash. The time stated that it had been two hours into the flight. She checked the time 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot announced that they reached cruising altitude 30 minutes in. So, they must have been waiting at least an hour and thirty minutes to be rescued. Knowing that they had to be in a national forest, Mariah wondered if someone saw the plane going down and if they were doing anything about it. The accident could have taken them off course though, so maybe no one saw. Instinctively, she checked her phone's battery charge. It was at 90%.

Suddenly, her mind clicked back into place. Electricity wasn't going to last forever, and when they ran out and if they still haven't been rescued… Mariah immediately got up and rushed over to the co-pilot. "Miss, I'm sorry but I have to ask you to return to where you were sitting." He says to her.

"Okay. But I just have one question. What are we going to do when we run out of power?"

The co-pilot crosses his arms and hesitates for a moment. "Hmm…That's a good question. I'll bring it up with the pilot and we'll figure out what we can do. Then I'll get back to you."

Mariah walks back to where her friend is and sits down. Annie by that point found the medicine deep within her suitcase and gave Mariah a pill. After taking it, she told Annie about her concern with the power. To which she agreed and advised Mariah to turn off her phone to conserve power.

After a short discussion with the co-pilot, the pilot bellows out, "May I have your attention everyone," The chatter from the passengers dies down as the pilot continues, "We have a limited supply of electricity and as such we need to ration it as best as possible. If in the event we run out and we still haven't been rescued, we will have to take more drastic measures." The passengers tensed up at the last part. "We figured it would be most efficient to divide ourselves into several groups. That way we can specialize and be more organized. Thus, increasing our chances of survival. We can have one group in charge of creating a signal. Another group in charge of food. And another group in charge of crafting or building shelter. Again, this is if in the event we run out of power for the radio signal, refrigeration for the food or any other absolute necessity. But, just to be prepared for such an event, we should create groups based on what skills we have."

Just as Mariah was wondering how the pilot could determine individual skill sets, the pilot continues, "People with hunting skills go to my right. People with gathering skills go to my left. People with crafting skills go into the center. If there is anyone who is uncertain on where to go, come see me or the co-pilot and we'll help you figure out the best group for you."


	3. New Friends?

The pilots must have underestimated how many people would come up to them, soon over fifty people were asking them on where they should go. Mariah figured that since she was studying mechanical engineering, she ought to go to the center zone. Annie, on the other hand, wasn't sure where would best suit her. However, she knew that she preferred to stick by her friend's side, and she also didn't want to wait in a line for god knows how long just to ask a simple question.

They stood around waiting to see what would happen next. Then out of the blue – a voice as curious as an echo in a cave asks, "This is pretty crazy, huh?" They both looked to their right to see a chubby, blond guy standing with his hands in his pockets looking ahead at the growing line. Was he talking to them? He continues, "Never thought I'd ever be in this kind of situation. Chances are so scant." Mariah wasn't sure whether she should respond. She wasn't the type to engage in small talk with strangers, whenever they initiated, she always kept her response as brief as possible.

Annie was the opposite. She could get into full conversations with strangers. She had this wonderous ability to connect with anyone; it was something that Mariah admired about Annie. Annie responded to the guy with, "Me neither. I was playing chess with my friend when all the sudden… this happens."

He looks towards Annie's direction. "Yeah…, Hope we get found soon before things get possibly worse." He turns toward the two women, taking his hands out of his pockets and extending his right hand forward. "I'm Elwin by the way. What're your names?"

Annie gives him a firm handshake and looks him in the eye. "I'm Annie."

At this point, Mariah figured she should introduce herself. They were probably going to be in the crafting group with Elwin, and it's a good idea to get to know at least some of their teammates. She locks her eyes onto Elwin's and introduces herself as she shakes his hand.

Mariah decided to try to break the ice – at least a little. "I'm kind of wondering how this group thing is going to work. It's easier to work in smaller groups of five or ten. So, are the groups going to form little sub-groups? If so, how will they find members? Are they going to be formed by people in close proximity to each other or are people going to seek others out to join?"

Elwin was quiet for a moment, placing his chin between his thumb and index finger. Then he shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe a bit of both. But people tend to form cliques with people of similar interests, so maybe that'll happen here too? Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Turns out they were both right. After the confused people in the line cleared away into suitable groups, everyone began to divide themselves into subgroups. Sometimes a person would initially be in one subgroup, but then break off to join another. That didn't happen with Mariah's little gathering. The members in it were all nearby and decided to group up together. Elwin looks around at the members in his group – scanning to see how many there were. Then in an orotund voice, "Well, since we're all in a group together, maybe we should play the name game to get to know each other a bit better. In the game you say your name, your occupation, where you were originally headed and a fact about yourself. This fact can be anything from your favorite video game to a skill you have. Then you pick someone else to go. Is everyone up for this?" Some people in the group, like Annie and Mariah, gave their approval. Others didn't say anything. Elwin, in a quavering voice, "Um… Okay…, I guess I'll go first. My name is Elwin Johnson. I study radio broadcasting at Townson University. I hope to one day have my own radio show where I talk about games, politics and shit that's going on in the world. I was originally going to Detroit for family business. I'm also really into anime. My favorite franchise ever is Ghost in the Shell. If I made a list of my favorite movies, Ghost in the Shell would sit at number one. But, Akira, Perfect Blue and Princess Mononoke would be in my top five somewhere. Annie, I choose you."

Annie chuckles at the last bit. She straightens up and clears her throat. "Hi everyone. I'm Antoinette Lefèvre, but you can call me Annie. I study linguistics at the University of Maryland. I was originally heading to Paris with Mariah." When she said Mariah's name, she gestured her hand toward her. Mariah waved at everyone in response. "I haven't decided what I want to do once I graduate. I do know that I either want to teach French or be a translator. A fun fact about me is that I'm into fashion. I like comparing fashions in different cultures. I like seeing how fashion evolved throughout the ages. I also generally like to see what's coming out of the modern fashion world." At this, Mariah reminisced about the times they went clothes shopping together (something they almost never did without each other) and Annie's fashion books she showed her when they were roommates freshman year.

After Annie picked her to go next Mariah began gathering her thoughts. She felt a bit weird sharing even a little bit of personal information with most of these people. Normally this wasn't an issue when it came to meeting classmates and club members. Perhaps it was the strangeness of the situation, she reasoned with herself. She glances at the other members in the group, the majority were eagerly waiting for what she had to say. She breathed in and began, "I'm Mariah Berkovich. I study mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. I still haven't figured out what I want to do after college, be it going for further education or finding a job somewhere. Especially in the prosthetics or transportation field, though I want to keep my options open." Now it was coming to sharing a fact about herself. She wasn't sure what to go with. Should she share that one of her favorite bands is Pearl Jam? That she is a shitty artist? Or maybe share that one of her heroes is Nikola Tesla. Suddenly, it came to her. "I'm a sucker for the science fiction genre! My favorite movie is Blade Runner. And some of my favorite books include: Dune, House of the Scorpion, and The Martian. I popcorn… the girl with curly hair and glasses."

Said girl was startled, as if she was lost in thought, then realizing someone was calling on her. "Oh, um, my name is Cassandra Wallace. But you can call me Cass if you prefer. I'm a double major in art history and archaeology. I was supposed to be going to Paris for the first part of my Europe research trip with some of my classmates. Uh…, I enjoy reading nonfiction books with topics ranging from history to religion to science."

 _She was more nervous than me,_ Mariah thought. _She even forgot to pick someone else to go. Then again, maybe she is also flabbergasted by the situation at hand._ "Aren't you going to pick someone else to go?"

"Oh, yeah! I pick… the man in the suit," Cass says as she adjusts her baggy green shirt.

The man looked very disinterested, like he had better things to do. He was sitting down, reading a book. He appeared to be in his forties at least. His burnt umber skin almost blended with his suit. He looks up with dark piercing eyes and in a deep, dispassionate voice asks if Cass was talking about him. When she nodded yes, he states in an aloof tone, "My name is Cole Hawkins and I am a gunsmith. I pick the man next to me to go."

 _He's pretty asocial. Better avoid him for a while._ Mariah then observes the gentleman next to Cole. He was the oldest in the group, he looked like he was in his sixties, seventy-five at the latest. He was starting to go bald on his crown, though he still retained his widow's peak. He is wearing a tailored navy suit jacket with a green plaid scarf. His reading glasses are nestled on his face. The man stares at Cole blankly.

Cole repeated himself. He wasn't getting through to the old man. _Maybe he's deaf. Or maybe he doesn't speak English._ Mariah was just about to try conversing to the man herself, but Annie beat her to the chase. _"C'est votre tour dire votre nom, votre travail, où vous-allez et un fait sur vous-même. Quelque chose briser la glace. Ensuite, vous choisissez quelqu'un d'autre aller."_

The man seemed a little relieved. He likely had no luck previously on finding someone who spoke his native tongue. _"Je m'appelle Florin Desjardins et je suis botaniste. Je retourniez à ma domicile à Paris. Dans mes temps libres, j'aime aller à la pêche, faire de la randonnée et l'aviron. Je choisis la jeune femme aux cheveux blonds pour aller ensuite."_

Elwin was completely lost. He leans towards Mariah and in a voice almost as quiet as a whisper, "Do you know what they're saying?"

Casually, she replies, "Yup. Annie was telling him what he needs to do. And he said that his name is Florin, he's a botanist, he's returning home to Paris. And his hobbies include rowing, hiking, and fishing. He didn't say what kind of botanist he is or why he's in the crafting group. But, he was probably lost earlier. Either way, someone with his skill set would be a valuable asset."

Annie calls out, "Hey blondie! It's your turn!"

Said "blondie" was sitting on her suitcase, twiddling with a pen in her left hand and a miniature sketchbook in the other. Like most in the group, she appeared to be college age. Her hair is braided loosely. Her maroon top has a sweetheart neckline and half-length sleeves. At the sound of Annie calling on her, she simply began, "Well, for starters, my name's Laurelei Costa. I'm studying to be an illustrator with a humanistic studies minor at MICA. I'm hoping after I graduate I can start my webcomic and find a job illustrating books. But I dunno, probably a lot of cool stuff out there I'm not aware of right now. I was going to Paris to study art for a semester, which I'm still excited for. One of my hobbies is cooking gourmet Italian and Japanese food with my boyfriend."

Laurelei looks around and asks if there was anyone else that hadn't gone yet. When Elwin replies that she was the last one in the group, she wonders out loud, "What do we do now?"

Elwin shrugs. "I dunno. I guess we sit around and wait until we absolutely need to build stuff."

Mariah did not share this same instinct. She immediately went to go get her suitcase from the crew. When she returned with it, she unzipped it to grab her tool box. It was a good thing that she decided to bring it along to save money and time while she was studying in France or else, she'd have to borrow or buy more tools! Surely there was something in there that could help them in their situation. She unlocks it and lifts the lid open. In it she saw her caliper, caster, mirror-on-a-stick, dial indicator, force gauge, swiss army knife, mechanic's tool kit, duct tape, calculator, and ruler. She had to leave some tools at home as they weren't allowed on checked luggage, at least she figured they wouldn't be. (Like her WD-40.) The rest of her tools resided in her laptop

"Okay so I have a ton of goodies that will help us out in the future. We'll still have to go out and get some of the raw materials. We should be okay at the moment though..."

"Show me what you have," interjects Cole, scaring Mariah a bit. He approached as silently as a prowling mountain lion. She obliges him and shows him her tool box. After a few minutes of him looking through her tools, he says to her in an authoritative tone, "If I were you, I would start to gather the materials necessary to build shelter or anything else. I would also see if I could assist the pilots and crew in any way possible, if I were you."


	4. The Spectators

"Hey! Keep up," someone shouts.

Mariah snapped out of her contemplation and focused on her environment. She was walking at a slower pace, taking in her surroundings. The burly man ahead of her was standing on a rock – surveying the landscape. The group was filing past him. Everyone had a weapon of some sort ranging from spears, to AK-47s to grenades. Mariah was the outlier in the group; She just had a Swiss army knife and a bag full of supplies. It didn't occur to her to question where everyone got such weapons. She wasn't quite sure where they were headed... she wasn't even sure what they were supposed to be doing. Everything felt …disjointed. She felt obligated to follow along, nonetheless.

Aimlessly they march until they discover an expanse. It was as massive as the Grand Canyon. The faces of the cliffs towered over the group like skyscrapers, it was almost as though the earth was looking at them through a magnifying glass. The surrounding earth and flora are akin to the landmark. The ground appeared fragmented and jagged in some areas - rolling and smooth in others. Spiky yucca, large agave, and tiny flame-red and pale-yellow blossoms covered the sweeping canyon floor. There were some juniper trees growing on the broken rock of the floor. A speeding river tirelessly carved its way through the basin. That was where the similarities between the forefather of geologic phenomena and this place ended. Something about this place felt … off. The walls of the ravine had mauve, cornflower and copper streaks in them. There were odd violet boulders scattered around the area. The dirt beneath them even had a lilac tint. The leader of the group looks towards the other side of the canyon. "We need to find a way to cross this."

Mariah put her bag on the ground and digs through it. She thought she had something with her that would help, but she couldn't find it. Then she remembered where it was. "Hey! I think I have something back at the camp that could help us. Let me go get it!"

Before she knew it, she was lost in the woods. She had taken several winding paths trying to find her way back. With each path she took, the forest got thicker. She eventually came across a clearing. Mariah felt her heart skip. A wave of relief washed over her like she finally found a place that had eluded her. Her excitement waned when it became increasingly clear to her that she was alone. She began to feel small as the forest grew and trapped her inside. Suddenly she felt like she was in peril. She tried to turn around and retrace her steps, but the path disappeared. Then she heard a low growling coming from behind her. She whirls around to see a pack of five pitch black wolves with sinister red eyes pacing towards her, blocking her path. She attempted to back away, but she ended up tripping and falling. The wolves used this as an opportunity to pounce on her. Mariah shrieked. She tried to scramble to her feet, but the wolves had already grabbed her. She felt the burning pain of teeth tearing flesh as panic began to fill her prone form. As she kicked and screamed, she could only think of her inevitable death. Before she realized it, the wolves were holding her down as the pack leader strode forward. He was bigger by far than the others. He seemed almost monstrous! The evil dire wolf stared at her mockingly, slowly going for her throat. Before he could make contact, he abruptly stopped. It jumps off of Mariah . She gazed upward to see an ivory wolf with a golden glow standing on top of a boulder overlooking the scene. It howls, causing the dark wolves to cringe and shriek. The pack then runs whimpering back into the shadows. Mariah turns her attention back to the white wolf. Feelings of peace and hope washed over her as her vision faded to black.

She then finds herself wandering alone in a dark, misty forest looking for the exit. Which was impossible since whenever it looked like she reached the end, the forest kept on expanding. Although it was dark, Mariah could still see somewhat as the woods were lit by soft, blue moonlight. The place was entirely silent, save for the crunching of twigs and leaves beneath her feet. There was no wildlife. No wind whistling through the trees. No rushing streams of water. Nothing. It was as though the forest was frozen in time.

Mariah could have sworn she wasn't alone, yet whenever she periodically stopped to scan the area, she found no one around. She decided to check behind her once again, only to predictably not see anyone. She heard something rustle in the trees. She looked up towards the canopy but couldn't find what was making that sound. Something that felt like bark started to loop around her ankle and wrap up her leg. She immediately attempted to kick and pull it off. That was when another root dragged her down on the ground. As she struggles to get up, more tree roots grabbed hold of her, pulling her down. One encircled her waist while another bound itself to her ankle. She kept kicking, yanking the roots and scratching the ground as they kept pulling her underground. She woke up just before she was submerged under the earth.

She was breathing heavily. She then calmed down enough to check her palm. _Okay, I can see my hand clearly. But just to double check…_ Mariah quietly opens her book bag to take out her ebony purse. She then gingerly opens it up to retrieve her compact mirror. _Okay, my reflection's clear too, so I'm definitely in the real world._ She then took out her space-themed journal and a pen from her bookbag and recorded everything she could remember from her dream.

Mariah had her first lucid dream when she was seven years old. It occurred spontaneously more often when she was around eleven years of age. At first it excited her, it was like having a superpower! However, she began to be afraid of not being able to distinguish reality from dreams and also of losing this power. She went on the internet and discovered that there were other people with the same ability she had. She learned about reality checks - which were simple ways one could tell if he or she was dreaming. For example, checking the letters on a page then seeing if they have changed. If they were altered somehow, she could be sure she was in a dream. After she learned about ways to induce lucid dreams, she didn't worry as much about losing her ability. She began a dream journal to help remember her dreams and recognize patterns in them.

It was the dead of night and everyone was sleeping. Some slept on the plane, others out in the open – even though the huts were poorly built. The moonlight was brighter than usual, which was a bit strange to Mariah - but it was useful for writing by. After she was done recording her dream, she took a good look at the night sky. Thousands upon thousands of diamonds were scattered across the heavens. There were even red and blue dots sprinkled in the mix. What she assumed to be a part of the Milky Way galaxy stretched its purplish arm across the sky and lit it up. She tried to find some constellations, but to no avail. Which was to be expected since Mariah was a city girl – she had never seen the night sky like this before. Only in photos. Then a thought pops into her mind. Light pollution from urban areas can spread into rural areas. _How is it that I'm seeing the night sky like this in rural Pennsylvania? We could have landed in one of the few places where the Milky Way can be seen clearly. But what are the chances of that?"_

Annie was deep in slumber, breathing softly and occasionally mumbling nonsensical poetry like, "your heart is made of chemical cyanide." Cass was sleeping on her stomach and spread out like a starfish. The rest of the group chose to sleep on the plane. Mariah tried to go back to sleep, but something made it very difficult to do so. The work from the day still wore on her. She and Elwin tried to help the crew fix the aircraft's radio as best as they could. Alas, they still couldn't reach anyone. They gave up on fixing the radio and helped to build the bonfire. One group went into the woods to gather kindling and wood. After they got back, they reported seeing strange creatures like spiders as large as cars (which made Elwin freeze) and a golden fox with three tails. Maybe there were undiscovered species here… or maybe the group was just seeing things. She didn't give it much more thought than that, what concerned her more was getting a bonfire started and being found. The bonfire was still being maintained by two night watchers. Five more night watchers sat at the edge of the camp, looking bored out of their minds as they kept watch.

She sat criss-crossed and rested her chin in her hand. _Maybe now would be a good time to read. Might also be nice to have a Jack Daniels and Coke._ She peered up at the shimmering sky. _Though isn't it a bit late or early for one? Eh, who cares? Wait… Coke has caffeine so maybe I should think of something else. I hope we are found soon._

~*~

It turns out that the plane was seen. Earlier in the day a group of twelve men were walking along a ramp towards the summit of an enormous mountain. The men were all carrying tools ranging from pickaxes to hammers and chisels. They all had unlit lanterns dangling at their sides. Each of them carried containers filled to the brim with spring water and sacks with a meager portion of food their families packed. All the men were filthy. Their clothes were all tattered and dirty - some of them had patches of fabric that came from other pieces of clothing! Their shoes were worn out, a few of them even had holes in them. Their skin was also covered in grime from the mine.

One of the men felt the urge to cough and pulled out a rag from his pocket. He continued to keep up with the rest of the group as he coughs violently into his "handkerchief". Worry lines stretched across his forehead as he thought to himself, this job will be the death of me. From that initial thought he descends into his usual worrying. If I die, how will my family manage? Will Dilan be able to make the transition from working the village farm to mining iron and providing for the family? What if the mine runs out of iron? Where will my family go? Will they become beggars in another town or city? Will Hola have to whore herself to support the family? What of Imi and Faria? I doubt they would be able to find a decent job or even a husband since they are not well learned and they are of humble birth. Would they be able to find work as maids regardless? Or will they eventually have to whore themselves? And what about Dilan? How would he support himself if he moved to another town?

His worrying was interrupted when there was a bright flash of light in the sky. Then he heard a sound he never heard before. He couldn't describe it. It was loud and it was a kind of shrill "vmmm" noise. As soon as his eyes adjusted, he saw a giant metal bird descending towards the deadly forest. One of its wings was even smoking a storm! Its sound echoed as it passed by.

The men stood there in shock as they watched the scene. The man with the handkerchief in a surprised voice said, "What in Nayru's name was that?!"

"I couldn't tell yeh. Ne'er seen anything like it," the man next to him said in a thick accent.

"Shouldn't we go and investigate it?"

"It's in the evil forest, can't just walk in there all Willy-nilly searching for something. And the thing itself may be dangerous. And how are we s'posed to look for it?"

Typical Otho response. The first man thought to himself as he gazed out over the thick forest. He's got a point though. But shouldn't we try to figure out what it is anyway?

Otho began walking away to catch up with the rest of the miners. He called back, "Raul! Aren't you comin'?"

Raul broke from his gaze and walked over towards Otho and the rest of the group. His pointed ears perked when he thought he heard a crash in the distance. He turned his head towards the green ocean to try to find where it came from.

~*~

A lizard soldier (Stickytoe) made his way to the throne room in the Palace of Winds. He saw a great metal bird drop from the sky while he was patrolling the grounds of the Tower of Flames. He had spent the next half hour deciding whether or not to tell the King of Darkness and the Lord of Winds what he saw. It was not his place to bother his masters with trivial matters, however, this could end up being very serious. He could not send a regiment to investigate without their permission. The guards opened the doors to the throne room after a brief security check. The room itself was grand. It was shaped like an octagon and each side had relief sculptures depicting scenes from Hyrulean mythology. The arches that framed them had designs of clouds, swirls and loftwings carved into them and were gilded. The ceiling was a massive dome that depicted the creation of the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. The lowest area of the dome had Din, Nayru and Farore each doing their part in their creation of the world. In the innermost and smallest section of the dome was a fresco of the golden triangles - the Triforce. And around it like a wreath was the Sacred Realm - the spot where the golden trio came to the world from the heavens. It was to the lizard-man's understanding that this was the only piece of religious art that was not desecrated in the entire palace. On the other side of the room the King sat on a throne gilded with gold. Beside him sat Lord Vaati. They looked like they were going over battle strategies by the fact that there was a map with some wooden blocks sitting on a table in front of them. The lizalfos felt humbled as he knelt down in front of them.

"Your majesssty." Stickytoe bowed reverently to the king. "My lord." He bowed to Vaati. "I... bring you urgent newsss... from the Death Mountain region." He drew out his response a little, testing to see if his masters would be interested in hearing what he had to tell them. When he was absolutely certain that they wanted to know, he sped up his declaration. "The patrol troop and I were doing our roundsss when we saw… sssomething unusual. There wasss a sssearing light from the heavensss then all the sssudden there wasss a giant metal bird. One of itsss wingsss was aflame and it crassshed into the Northern Foressst."

Vaati was silent for a few moments, processing what he heard and trying to decide what he wanted to do with the information. After three minutes he said to the king, "Why don't we use the Dark Mirror to assay this and determine what to do?"

The king rose up from his throne. "Very well," he grumbled. He walked over to the mirror, his cape billowing slightly behind him. The king had the appearance of a man who could shake the earth with every step he took, yet he possessed a grace that was akin to gliding across the stone floor. He made his way to a grand archway covered by a cloth. He removed the covering to reveal the Dark Mirror. The mirror itself was very opulent. It was similar to the size of a large door and was of an arch-like shape. The frame was made of metal with abstract patterns carved into it. All the sides of the mirror had one red gemstone each. Aside from the inky glass surface, the most striking feature was its horned demon skull with its open jaw on the top of the mirror. Wrapped around it was a snake with heads on both ends. On either side of the skull were two massive claws. The king reached out and touched the black glass. A sharp picture materialized after a few seconds of blurriness. It was the strange object the soldier had reported! What's more was that there were people coming out of it, some appeared to be unconscious and were being carried out.

"Humansss?! That thing was carrying humansss?! What is that thing!?" asked the bewildered lizalfos.

The king studied the scene in the mirror. He remembered what the soldier had said about there being a blinding light in the sky. Then his mind wandered back to when Vaati cast the spell, there was also a bright flash back then as well. He asks, "Vaati, do you think this may have something to do with your spell?"

The wind mage grimaced. There went the king again, blaming others for HIS mistakes. "MY spell?! YOU were the one who modified what I had written down!"

The king shrugged off Vaati's disgust. "You were the one who cast it, and it was you who couldn't make it work properly until I fixed it. Anyway… I wonder where they came from? I've never seen anyone dress like they do, nor have I seen a contraption like that metal bird. I also never heard anything that remotely resembles their language. Regardless, it may well be worth our time to keep a close eye on this group. They may end up being a thorn in our side that we will have to deal with. Or they may end up being useful for us."

Vaati scoffed. "Not if they don't die first."


	5. Conspiracies and Salvation

The week was agonizing. For some the week passed like quicksand. For others, the daily repetition felt as slow as molasses. Gather berries and herbs. Catch a fish or a squirrel. Fetch some wood and dry leaves for the bonfire. Go back to get more berries and meat. Retrieve more sticks and dry matter to burn. All the while avoiding potentially dangerous animals. Tweak the shelters so they won't fall apart. Rinse and repeat. There was no sign of the outside world coming to their rescue either. Which obviously made the survivors all the more antsy.

Mariah's days were more or less the same. Get up at the crack of dawn. Record her dreams. Eat her ration of food. Go around with some members of the group and see what needed to be fixed or made for that day. Then get to work for maybe eight hours. This morning, Mariah brought some cold, sweet tea to Mr. Desjardins, Annie and herself. Afterwards she continued to write in her journal. Mr. Desjardins took notice and asked her what she was writing about. She explained the dream journal to him and the three of them had a conversation about dreams and the scientists who study them. She was in the middle of telling them about her dream last night; and right when she was about to get to the part where she was climbing some scaffolding on a skyscraper - someone apologetically interrupted to tell them that they needed repairs on their shelters.

The whole crafting group sat and crafted supplies for the other groups. With the exception of Annie, who was helping translate something for Desjardins. Mariah is sitting criss crossed on the ground carving a spike made from a tree branch she found. Laurelei was making some rope out of grass and Cass was winding it on a stick she had picked up. "Have you heard of any of the theories that have been popping up around here," inquires Cass.

Laurelei tilts her head slightly. "No, I haven't. What kind of theories are they," she asks back as she continues to braid the long grass together.

"The stupid kind of theories. I heard a theory this morning that made me want to bang my head against the wall it was so stupid," Cass declared. "Basically, the theory was that we were abducted by aliens. The bright flash of light was their transporter thing bringing us onto their mothership. While we were unconscious, we were plugged into some kind of simulation where we could be tested on our raw abilities."

Laurelei cracks a smile and chuckles. "That's pretty ridiculous!"

"I was with Elwin delivering supplies yesterday when we came across a guy who believed we may have time traveled. But he couldn't decide whether we jumped into the future or the past."

"Seriously?! How do people come up with these theories?"

Cass shrugs. "I wish I knew for sure. But, if I had to guess it's because they're scared and want an explanation for what's going on."

Mariah kept mindlessly carving. "I think that we might be in purgatory." Suddenly Mariah's ears perked up. "It would explain why we haven't been found yet- it's because we're on another plane of existence!" Mariah groaned at the absurdity. "I mean what are the chances that we survive a plane crash? Not very high." Some people shared Mariah's disdain for the foolish rantings of their fellow passenger. Some were even crying for him to shut up.

"Maybe purgatory is a test where you're judged on your character by sticking you in a situation where you have to cooperate to survive a situation." Most were tuning him out but Mariah noticed a few people beginning to come around to his way of thinking. She decides to approach. "A good way to tell what someone is really like is to put them in a situation outside their element and see how they react and cope. If you pass, you go to heaven." As he finishes his line of reason some people begin to show doubt in the face of the man's logic. They didn't believe him entirely but they had no counter argument. That took their confidence a little.

Mariah could not stand for this...

Mariah pipes up, "First of all, how can you be so certain that we are in purgatory and not just in the wilderness? Secondly and more importantly, we are absolutely not dead. We have a need to eat and we react to stimuli like heat and light," Mariah states firmly. "We also have a need to rest, which is another sign of life. Another way to tell if you're alive is to take your index and middle fingers and put them under your jaw. If you feel a thumping sensation, you are still alive as that's your pulse doing its thing. Oh, and thanks to modern safety regulations, you have a less than one percent chance of dying in a plane crash."

After a moment the guy retorted back, "Well how do you know that it's your actual pulse beating? You aren't a doctor or a pilot. Maybe it's a phantom muscle reaction going on. Maybe we get hungry and get tired because we haven't fully moved on to the next world."

"I may not be a pilot or a medical practitioner," Mariah stated confidently and defiantly. "But I know enough to know my own body's vital functions. So do all of you!"

As Mariah spoke out against the zealous survivor, the people who were beginning to believe in the zealous survivor's theory began to see reason. They quickly began reiterating Mariah's point to each other.

"What does a child like you know about this life or the next!?" he frustratedly screamed.

"More than you apparently!" Mariah began to say but was cut short by someone grabbing her arm. She spun around to see Laurelei.

"Don't feed the crazies," Laurelei mutters under her breath to Mariah.

Mariah considered turning back to yell at him more. But, she decided against it. Mariah looked back to the zealot with a scowl on her face. His face was twisted into a look of pure contempt, like he was about to lash out at any moment. Almost as if the very idea that Mariah had confronted him was unthinkable. She sighed and dropped the issue. Idiots were brilliant at being idiots and some people won't change their minds even if they were presented with credible evidence.

"You're stellar at making friends I see." Laurelei commented when they were out of earshot. "He's gonna remember that."

"Do you think so?" asked Mariah.

"Why'd you yell at him anyway?" Laurelei inquired. "He's just scared like all of us."

"I can't stand for blatant statements being made with nothing to back them up." Mariah stated. "Or logical fallacies. Just because he's scared does not make it right. This place feels too mundane for the after life. His fear won't make it any less true."

Laurelei considered Mariah's words carefully. After a while she suddenly asked, "What if they're right?" Mariah turned to her companion to see the honesty in her face. She tried to give a response but suddenly she found she couldn't say anything to assuage her worry. It wasn't just the zealot. There were wild ideas floating around the encampment. Even if none of it was true, the truth didn't stop people from being afraid. The truth did not get them any closer to home. They were all stuck, and no one had come for them yet. That was the truth.

"Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him so harshly." Mariah admitted. Laurelei patted her on the shoulder and went back to work.

Mariah was just about to go back to carving when she heard a distraught, "M!" Looking up she sees a mortified Annie a few feet away from her. She looked very pale, and she was jittery all over. "I need to talk to you…" she says as her feet twitch in place. Mariah stands up and Annie motions her to follow her. They wind up at the edge of the camp behind a tree. Concerned, Mariah asks Annie what was happening and if everything was okay. Annie's response shocked Mariah to her core.

"I saw Liam."

Mariah's eyes widened. "Are you absolutely sure?!"

Annie peers from behind the tree. "Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure it's him. I don't think I could ever forget his face, even if I wanted to."

Mariah decides to take a peek for herself, to see what her friend's ex was up to - whether or not he was watching them. Sure enough, she saw Liam having an animated conversation with someone. What the hell is that scumbag doing here?! She turns back to face her friend. And in a voice as quiet as a mouse, she says, "Maybe it's best if we bring this up with an authority figure, like Cole. They may have a better solution than just avoiding him outright."

Annie nods her head in silent agreement. They wait for Liam's gaze to move from their path before silently and swiftly moving toward Cole, the unofficial leader of the crafting party. They find Cole assembling some spears a few feet away from where Laurelei and Cass were braiding grass. Mariah speaks up, "Hey Cole." He glances up. "We need your help with something." He puts down the spear and walks over to them.

"What is it?"

Annie inhales deeply. She then explains to him in as much detail as possible her predicament, stopping every now and then to answer Cole's questions. "... I just don't want to deal with him. I don't want anything to do with him anymore! Is there anything you can do?"

"Alright. I understand your plight. Truly I do. However your job as an interpreter requires that you translate for anyone who needs it. That includes people who you may dislike. Our chances of surviving would dramatically decrease if you weren't here to interpret. That being said, there are safety precautions you can take so you can feel safer. When you go out translating for people, always go with someone. People aren't always trustworthy and they may be less likely to take advantage when you are with someone else. Keep your interactions brief with strangers you are doing work for - as well as a reasonably safe distance from them. That's the only advice I can offer at the moment. I can't do anything about Liam until he actually does something to you to warrant a direct intervention. And as far as we are aware, he doesn't know you are here. If he ever does harass or harm you, see me or the airplane staff. Also, if you need someone to act as an intermediary for you, you can ask one of us."

"Couldn't I do some translation work to ease the burden?" Mariah suggests.

"You could. But we need you most in the crafting group. If you were always out doing translation work, we would have a harder time making equipment and coming up with solutions. However, if you truly want to ease the burden, you can take up translation work in the evenings."

"Well then who's supposed to go with Annie?"

"How about that French guy?"

"Who? You mean Doctor Desjardins? He's a decent guy. But I'd rather M go with me. I trust her and I've known her since we were freshmen," Annie says in earnest.

"How about you have a different partner each day? One day Mariah can accompany you, then the next day Elwin can go with you and so forth. You can also choose someone else from another group to go with you. Just as long as you feel comfortable with them." Cole looks toward Mariah. "I would work out a plan with her before moving forward. Now, I need to get back to work. Come see me if you need any more help."

The two add more to their plan and agree on it. They make their way to the gathering group towards a man examining berries in a cup. Annie opens her bag to take out a pink, spiral bound notebook. She waves to the man. "Hi Mr. Roger! I finished translating Doctor Desjardins' notes." She hands the notebook to him while Mariah gazes over at Liam who was still talking with that guy. "I remembered you were asking me if I could make some diagrams to help make the information more digestible, so I asked Laurelei to sketch out some." Mariah turns her attention back to Annie and Roger.

"These look great, definitely help to make the information much more manageable. Thank you!" Roger skims through the notes again. "Would it be alright if I kept these?"

"Sure! I think you need it more than I do," Annie replies. Mariah refocuses on Liam. He still hasn't seen us, hopefully it stays that way, Mariah thinks to herself. She watches him for a few minutes before returning her focus to Annie's conversation.

"...can you ask Doctor Desjardins if there is a surefire way to know if a plant is poisonous?

"Absolutely! I don't know why that information isn't in there. I'll ask him and bring some notes back." Mariah turns her head back towards Liam's direction.

The moment she looks back to Annie and Roger, Liam glances in their direction. He squints and he cocks his head to the side. It couldn't be, could it?

He whispers, "Annie ..., is that you?


	6. Liam

Liam kept his eyes glued on Antoinette and her friend. Things had changed since they split a year ago. If he could just talk with Annie, maybe they could both move on with their lives.

When it looked like she and her friend were done conversing with the gathering man, Liam cautiously began walking towards them, accidentally cracking twigs as he went along. That grabbed Mariah's attention. Mariah stared down at him like a ferocious tiger as he approached and tapped Annie's shoulder. Annie takes one look at Liam and steps behind her friend. Mariah whispered something to Annie, who in turn nodded. "What do you want," the ink haired girl barked.

Liam put his hands in the air. _Jeez, I didn't even say anything and already she's mad at me. "Uh… I just came over to say hi and chat. You know, see how everything's been lately."_

"Why are you here?" She barbarously demanded.

"I was going to Detroit for a job interview." Mariah looked as though she thought he was pulling a story out of his ass. "I'm not lying or anything." Liam continued, "I got an interview at GM." He kept his hands up, unsure whether or not it was "safe" to put them down. "Why are you guys here?"

"We were going to Paris for school," Mariah bluntly responded. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you know we were on this flight or was it by coincidence?"

"No, no, it was totally by chance that we were in the same plane." Liam glanced at Annie, who was standing right behind Mariah. He sighs, "Look, I'm not here to fight or anything. I know I've done wrong in the past and I want to make it up to you. I know you're probably surprised to see me here, but, uh…"

Annie crossed her arms and leaned towards Mariah, whispering something into her ear. "She wants nothing to do with you." Liam could feel her glaring daggers at him.

"I'm not asking to get back together or anything." As Liam speaks, he recalls all the times when things got violent. "I've gone to counseling…" He utters as the memory of blood and broken glass flashes through his mind. "I've gotten better and I know what I did was wrong and I want to make amends."

"Bullshit! You're just trying to get on Annie's good side so that you can worm your way back into her life," Mariah accuses.

Soon a handful of people were watching the encounter, curious as to what was going on. Others observed them at first, quickly retreating back into their tasks as they believed what was going on was none of their business.

Meanwhile, Elwin just outside the camp gathering sticks with a small party, which included the pilot. Right as he was bending down to pick up a thick one, he heard an angry, "Bullshit!" He jolted up and saw Mariah giving a death glare to some guy in a football jersey and messy brown hair. At her heels stood Annie, noticeably freaked out. Unsure of whether or not to approach them, Elwin looks over to the tiny woman several yards away from him. "Mariah seems pretty pissed at this guy, and Annie looked pretty uncomfortable. Shouldn't we do something?"

The woman looked over towards them. She shrugged, "I don't think we should be getting involved. It'd be one thing if they want to share with us what's been happening. But until that point, their situation has nothing to do with us." She continued to scan the area, finding twigs with brittle leaves.

Elwin wasn't sure if he agreed with her position. On one hand, yeah, he shouldn't butt into other people's private business. But on the other… Annie and Mariah were important members of the group. (Really, everyone was important. But still.) If there was some kind of conflict involving those two, it would probably be in everyone's best interest if it was resolved as quickly as possible. Thing was, Elwin didn't feel like he was qualified to solve a… mystery dispute. _Maybe I should let the pilot know. Then tell Cole. They'll probably have a better handle on the situation._ Elwin practically skipped his way to the pilot avoiding stepping on sticks. He found the pilot helping a man bag up some dried leaves. "Hey, Mr. Hugh." He looked up, greeted Elwin and told him that he'd be with him in a moment. "Well, I don't need help, personally," Elwin stammered, trying to be quick as to not take too much of Hugh's time. "If you have the chance, would you be able to check on Annie and Mariah? They seem to be really upset with this one guy."

"Will do! Before I do so though, I'm going to need to ask you some questions to assess the situation. Namely if they know the man or not. And if he has been harassing them," Hugh responded without hesitation.

A bystander on the sidelines scoffed at them. "They're just having an argument, what's the problem? Let them settle the score like adults." Elwin and the pilot gave him an agitated glance at him before moving back to their conversation.

Back in the camp, Liam thought to himself, _What the fuck?!_ "No, I'm not. I wanted to explain my side of the story, then get her side of the story. I wanted to apologize too, since I feel I owe her an apology. I thought that maybe this way we could both move on," Liam distraughtly responds.

That gave Mariah some pause. The copper haired girl whispered something to her friend, the only words he could pick up were "lying" and "not sure." Liam finally puts his hands down, with a clap at his thighs. "Look, what do I gotta do to prove to you that I'm telling the truth?"

"You can show us your boarding pass!" Mariah retorted.

Liam fished his phone out from his pocket. He made a few taps on his screen. As soon as he found what he wanted, he gingerly held his phone out towards Mariah and took a few steps towards her. As soon as she had his phone, he quickly took a few steps backward. He could hear her susurrate, "Looks like he wasn't lying about going to Detroit."

Mariah and Annie look at each other for a moment. Annie was not willing to trust Liam and open up to him ever again. Some doors ought to stay shut and locked up for good! The fact that she might have to work with him was sickening to say the least. Despite this, she understood that as an interpreter, there would be the chance of having to cooperate with her ex in order to survive. Her wishing for a different circumstance wouldn't change a thing. Annie, inaudible to anyone else but Mariah said, "I wish someone would just deal with Liam for me." She shuddered, memories of them getting into violent fights flooded her mind. She sniffled. "Oh God, what do we do?"

Fury kept building up within Mariah like water in a kettle. She wanted to punch Liam for making Annie feel the way she did now and in the past. And for having the nerve to approach them with a flimsy excuse! She was sure it was an act to get back into Annie's life and ruin it. She stared at Liam's boarding pass before looking up at Annie. "Okay, here is what I think we should do..."

Liam Cringes. _It's so unfair! They're so determined to make me a villain without hearing me out._ The women began discussing among themselves and Liam respired. _I hope they aren't looking at anything else on my phone._ The sweat build up was making his shirt heavy. He pinches it and shakes it a little. Then he put his hands behind his head and cracked his knuckles. He gazes up at the forest canopy. The sun shone through the leaves, painting their shadows on the forest floor. A brisk breeze blew through the encampment, which felt refreshing against the blazing bonfire. Birds chirped in the distance. Liam mumbles to himself, "I hope GM can reschedule the interview…" He lowered his gaze back down to the giant inferno. "Why is it taking so long for a rescue team to get us? Sick of nature already..."

No sooner when he finished that thought, someone shrieked. The trio spun around to see two people both holding someone walking back into the camp. The man they were carrying had some kind of injury on his abdomen. He was bleeding profusely, even with his attempts to apply pressure to his wound. He was hacking up blood too. Someone alarmingly asked one of the men who was lifting him what got to him. His answer worsened their fear.

"Something that shouldn't exist on Earth."


	7. A Proposition

The mid-morning sun was blazing on the Palace of Winds. Most of its inhabitants were inside, getting ready to go to sleep. Some were still up, working or pursuing hobbies. In a deserted parlor, the Wind Mage and the King laze on separate couches. They gave a rousing speech to their legions earlier, so they decided to cap off their morning by downing a bottle of wine and spying on the strange folk of the metal bird. Not that they were expecting much to happen. The only thing that roused their interest was that a man was carried back into the settlement by his comrades and died after being wounded by a spiked beetle of all things. Three days later, seven of the humans died from eating poisonous berries.

The Dark Mirror stood across the gaping fireplace, images of the strange tribe practically leaping off the surface. The furniture was intricately carved with plant motifs. The settees all had overstuffed cushions the color of the night sky and had ivory accent pillows. The walls were painted cherry red. Which made the verdant landscapes and their golden dresses pop from the walls. Vaati lounged back on the sofa, crossing his left leg over his right as he swirled his goblet of crimson wine. The King kicked back and propped his feet on a claw-footed ottoman. The fire's light danced from one end of the room to the other, casting dramatic shadows. Vaati held up his chalice to the pyre's glow. "How long have we been watching these humans?"

The King rested his head on his left hand and crossed his ankles. He reached over to pick his wine glass from off the end table. He peered into it. It was still mostly full. "We have been watching them for," The King paused to take a sip of his beverage. "Two weeks and three days now."

Vaati snapped at him, "And do you still believe it's worth taking valuable time out of our daily regimen to pay any sort of attention to this tribe?" He took a swig of his fermented grape juice. He sat up straight, swirling his drink as he faced his superior. "These people clearly have no ability to survive the wilderness. They haven't figured out how to determine which plants are poisonous. Or how to avoid dangerous predators." The mage attempted to smooth his feathers by taking another sip. He wanted to keep his temper under control when discussing anything with his King. "They are totally useless to us! Furthermore, we have more pressing matters on hand. The Links are restoring the Four Sword faster than ever before. Our forces may not be able to eliminate them quickly enough." Vaati glared at the image on the mirror. The humans were more terrified than ever, despite that they were attempting to go about their daily business. "We still haven't made a crack at their language either. So I must ask. Why are we still watching them?"

The King shifted his eyes towards the wind mage. His eyes were slim and his lips were stretched into a thin line. His whole expression was stone tight. The King responds calmly "They seem to possess powerful technology. And they are the only ones who know how to work it. Perhaps even create it. It may be possible to acquire the knowledge simply by observing them."

Vaati rolled his eyes. It was a pathetic idea to him. Simply creating complex technology by mere surveillance was impossible. Subtle details could be missed. Intricacies misunderstood. They did not even know the smithing techniques for the metal. He raised his index finger and points to his King. He opened his mouth, about to voice his thought - until an idea started to creep into his mind. He withdrew his finger, and turned his gaze. What if we...

The King raised his eyebrow in anticipation. The embers made his eyes shimmer more golden than before. Vaati's scarlet eyes met the Dark King's.

"Your majesty, what if we send a small squad to keep watch over them for us? Have them report any noteworthy information to us. This way, we can focus on more important affairs."

"An excellent suggestion!" The king raised his glass towards Vaati. "The question is, who do you propose we send? I think it would be unwise to send our best to do a mission like this. And whoever we send, they will need a small handful of doctors."  
~*~  
Jax nimbly strode down a hall in the west section of the Palace of Winds. When he wasn't delivering messages, he was caring for the armory. Now he was delivering an urgent notice to the head physician. His blood curdled at the thought. He was a moblin, and they were a deeply tribal culture. As such, he didn't have a positive opinion on these newfangled "doctors". To him, they were gross perversions of shamans. Testing their sorcery on prisoners - calling it treatment. Mutilating the dead for "study" and experimenting with plants and chemicals to create so-called "medicine". Jax couldn't wrap his head around why these "doctors" would need to invent new medical treatments when shamanistic methods have worked in the past. It was akin to reinventing the wheel, what was the purpose? The boar-man glanced at the scroll in his hand. The King and Lord Vaati wanted to send a few medical professionals to go along on some kind of intel mission.

As he got closer to the ward, he heard someone screaming at the top of their lungs - sending chills down his spine. It brought him back to that one time where he had the misfortune to briefly witness an amputation. What had happened was a prisoner developed gangrene on his entire right leg. He was brought in from the dungeon and laid in the operating table. The apothecary had to force a numbing cocktail down the man's throat as he was cursing at all of them and proclaiming that he would rather be dead. Apparently this man was being kept because the King himself wanted him for questioning. The boar-man remembered he stood next to the door, waiting to give his message to the Doctor before the surgery began. The Doctor walked in and he gave him the note. He motioned for the surgeons to begin without him. Unfortunately while the Doctor was writing out his response, the moblin had to stand by for five agonizing minutes to witness the saw cut through flesh and bone. The man almost blew everyone's ears out. Jax could still hear the bone sounding like lumber being cut! Just as bad was the smell of decaying flesh. When the Doctor gave him his letter, Jax bolted for the exit. It still made him feel sick to this day.

He turned a corner and walked down a short corridor to the heavy, ebony door of the clinic. Jax inhaled sharply. _I hope I don't get sick, I hate being around sick people._ He pushed the door open and pokes his head in.

The entryway was fairly plain. It was a fairly small room, about the size of two to three king sized beds. No artwork graced the walls. There were benches with vermilion cushions on both sides of the double door. The archway on the left was framed by two spiral columns. It led downstairs to the recovery wing. On the other side of the arch on the right was the sick ward. Twisted pillars also edged the entrance on the right. Sometimes, when there was an out-of-control illness, there would be a tapestry over the passage. Across where the moblin soldier was peering in the window to the apothecary's laboratory and "receptionist" desk. He could hear two people conversing...

"Are you coming in or not?" The voice was smooth and clear, it had a little bit of an aristocratic flair in it. It also had a sharp point in it, like the owner didn't like having their time wasted.

 _Must be Shadow Lhusuu._ Jax swung open the door and sidelined his way to one of the seats. The man behind the window and his client stared at him in bewilderment before going back to their conversation. They were both shadow demons. In essence, they were the darkness within someone's heart brought to life and given form. Normally, they looked very human (minus the inverted hair color). However, when enraged they would assume a more demonic appearance. Their bodies would appear as though they were made of umbral gossamer. Their hands would become more claw-like. Their canine teeth would even become straight up fangs!

Jax couldn't help but watch the scene unfold. There was a midnight haired boy of about fifteen standing outside the window. His face was covered with acne and rashes. "My commander sent me here to get some medicine. He says I don't do a good enough job washing my face."

"What do you use to wash your face with currently?"

The kid shrugs. "I just use water. Works pretty well for the most part."

"Ah. There's the problem there. Your skin is full of oils that repel water. So while you're splashing off your face, the muck is still there. Which is why you need soap to scrub off the grime." Lhusuu bends down, reaching for something under the desk. When he finds what he's looking for he rises back up with both objects in his hands. "You'll need to wash yourself with this soap. And you'll need to apply this ointment twice a day for two weeks. Your acne should clear up by then. If not, come back and see me. We'll figure something else out."

The kid was silent, then he squeaked, "But it sounds like so much work. Isn't there a faster way to deal with acne? Like mixing the ointment in the water and splashing it on my face."

Lhusuu leaned on the counter and clasped his hands together. "Here's the thing, if you do that the medicine won't do anything. It will just wash off as soon as you try cleaning off your face. Scrubbing your face with soap and applying the ointment will get the grime off and prevent more pimples from forming." He pauses, making sure the kid is paying attention. The kid was just looking at him. Assuming that the kid didn't get the answer he wanted or he was only passively listening, Lhusuu adds in, "Look at it this way, washing yourself properly can attract girls."

Surprised, the kid asks, "Really?"

"Yeah, girls like guys who practice good hygiene."

The kid nodded, took his medicine and left quickly. Lhusuu turned his attention to Jax and he asked him in a soft spoken voice if he needed something.

"Is Doctor Zenir in? I have a message addressed to him from the King and Lord Vaati."

"Yes. He should be in his office. If he's not there, check the sick wing." Lhusuu points his finger towards the well side. "That way is slightly faster to his office. Go right through."

The recovery branch had a scattering of demons nestled in beds. Some were snoozing away. Someone was keeping vigil at his partner's bedside, arranging a bouquet of lobelias in a kaleidoscopic vase he brought with him. Others were wide awake and chattering away with visitors - presumably family and friends. Each bed was separated by a thick curtain. There were several unframed, landscape paintings on the room's walls, some of which were of a ravenous volcano oozing lava.

Jax kept making his way through the wing and into the labyrinth of offices, operating rooms, and dissection rooms. "Why would the architects choose to have winding hallways like this," Jax muttered to himself. "They should've made it more straightforward. It would certainly make my job easier." He passed by three closed offices before approaching Doctor Zenir's. The door was wide open and inside the den was a lizalfos sitting at a large desk taking notes. He was the polar opposite of his brother and Jax's friend, Stickytoe. Zenir was more serious and reserved, but was also incredibly patient. Unlike his brother who loved pulling pranks and was far more extraverted, but hated sitting around waiting for things to happen. The only trait they seemed to share was that they were dedicated to their respective causes. He also wore heavier clothing than the typical lizalfos. He wore a white cloak that reached down to his ankles. He donned an earthy scarf like a hijab. He even has a cloud-white sleeve tied over his tail, keeping him warm. Jax knocks on the side of the entryway to get his attention. "Doctor Zenir! Do you have a moment?" Doctor Zenir looks up.

"Jax! It's ssso good to see you. Come in!" Zenir waved his hand backward signaling Jax to enter the study. The whole office was decorated to ease Zenir's homesickness. The room had drawings reminiscent of cave paintings of his home territory sitting on the walls. One of the book shelves housed his collection of rocks from Death Mountain. There were also portraits of his family scattered around the room. Most prominent was the charcoal drawing of Zenir and Stickytoe on the desk. Jax sniffed the air and turned his head towards a small altar where a stick of incense was lit. "What can I do for you?"

Jax held out the scroll towards him. "I have a message from the King and Lord Vaati. Do you want me to read it to you?" Zenir walked over and took it from him.

"That'sss alright, thanksss," Jax watches his eyes dart back and forth. His smile fades into a frown. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no! Doesn't hisss Royal Majesssty know that we are low on ssstaff and we jussst hired sssome traineesss? If I send anyone, it'll be disastrousss over here..." Zenir slumps into his chair.

Jax hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. Zenir was in a dreadful situation, but he still had to do what his Majesty ordered. Then like a flash of lightning, he got it. "Is there a bare minimum you can send away?"

"I would asssume it would be three."

"So make a poster calling for volunteers. Say you are looking for people with a good deal of experience. That they're going on an intel mission up in the Northern Forest and only three will be selected to go. Be as clear as possible. Maybe say in it what kind of doctors you are looking to send. Be careful with the wording especially, don't want to repeat what happened last time."

The time he royally messed up plays back in Zenir's mind. "Want to be a real hero? Become a doctor! Apply today at the Clinic. Experience preferred." Members of the military and their supporters were in an uproar, saying he was disparaging the military. Demons petitioned Lord Vaati himself to get Zenir fired. Luckily for him, it didn't go through. Ultimately, Zenir took the poster down and asked someone else to create an advertisement. "Fair point. Tell the King and Vaati that I'll have a sssmall medical team put together by the end of thisss week. Oh and..." He opens one of his desk drawers and gets out a sheet of paper. He hurriedly jots down a message. "Give thisss note to Doctor Deki down in the Lost Woodsss bassse. He may have some doctorsss who may alssso be able to go," Zenir says as he hands it to Jax.

"Will do. I'll see you later!" Jax turned to leave. Then a thought popped into his head. "By the way, I heard someone screaming as I was coming in. What was that all about?"

Zenir shrugged. "Oh, Doctor Kayn wasss tesssting sssome medicine on one of the prisssonersss here. He did not react well to it. He wasss quivering all over and he dropped onto the floor foaming at the mouth. He fell unconsciousss so we ssstuck him back on hisss bunk."

Spooked, Jax asks, "What kind of cocktail does that?! What is it supposed to do?"

In a placating voice, Zenir answers, "It'sss a drug that isss sssupposssed to sssoothe migrainesss in Blinsss. It's ssstill in the worksss right now ssso we have been tesssting it on prisssonersss until we get it right."

Jax, still feeling uneasy but curious, inquired, "Why use humans? Wouldn't it be more accurate to use voluntary subjects? And why make a new drug for migraines? The shamans have been prescribing yarrow root for generations for that sort of thing and it's been working fine."

"For your sssecond question, yarrow root isssn't alwaysss ssstrong enough for sssome. Developing a new drug will help them deal with migrainesss much more effectively than yarrow root ever could. Asss for your firssst question, creating new medicine isss a complex processs. Chemicalsss can interact with each other in various waysss and if you put them into a living being it can have a range of effectsss. Thisss can be dangerous. We tessst on humansss becaussse their anatomy isss fairly sssimilar to many demonsss' and ssso not to endanger the public."

Not feeling any less disturbed, Jax quaked, "But... are you sure it's okay to experiment on humans? Aren't you worried that they'll get violent?"

Zenir dismissed his fears. "Remediesss have to be tesssted before they are put out on the market; it can't be avoided. Sssecond, although the convictsss do occasssionaly rebel, we are alwaysss able to quell it." Jax stands as still and as quiet as a statue. Zenir stops momentarily, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to assure him. "They're treated well in cassse you are wondering. They get plenty of food, ressst, activity, and clean quartersss."

Jax was silent for a few seconds. "...Right... okay. I've got to go now, take care." With that and an awkward wave from Zenir, Jax was on his way. Right when he was at the entrance hall, he spots Shadow Lhusuu and a patient having a heated argument. The patient was an unpleasant looking bokoblin with an unbandaged gash on his arm leaking out pus and plasma. He was waving a remedy of some sort in front of Lhusuu's aloof face.

"... why do I got to choke down some brew that don't even work?!"

"Have you been drinking it four times daily?"

"No, 'cause it tastes bad and it don't work."

"That's the problem, you have to take the medicine as prescribed in order for it to be effective. If you have been doing that and it still does not work, then we can figure out something else. As for the taste, I'm sorry but it can't be helped. If I added anything to help with the flavoring, it could nullify the entire medication." Lhusuu peers at the bokoblin's cut. "Why isn't your wound bandaged?"

"Because I don't believe in bandages," the bokoblin proudly exclaims. "They smell bad and they get all sticky and full of gunk. They're also just uncomfortable and unfashionable."

Lhusuu blinks a few times. Then he furrows his brow and rubs it. "You have to wear bandages. They help to prevent the injury from spreading. If they are getting full of pus and plasma constantly, then you need to change them more frequently. Lastly, it doesn't matter whether or not it's fashionable! What matters is your recovery." Lhusuu pauses to see what the patient would say. When he is silent, he quietly groans, "I'll get you a roll of gauze and cotton squares. Change them when they are oversaturated. Do you understand?"

Jax decides to make his exit at this point. He never understood why anyone would go to the medicine maker, or the shaman for that matter, and then never listen to what they told them.

On the outside Lhusuu was as calm as a babbling brook, inside he was raging like a storming sea. He was sick and tired of always having to deal with the dumbest of patients who never listened to the doctors and always blamed them for being sick. He wished that all the morons in the world were just... gone. The earth would be a better place without them. It was at times like these that alcohol on the job would be useful, then again, drinking would impair good judgement. _It would be so nice if I could just... escape somehow._


	8. The Poisoner and the Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight Trigger Warning: Descriptions of mass execution in a historic context and mentions murder and suicide methods.

An adolescent girl stood holding the doors of the poison cabinet open, reaching up as high as she could manage, nearly standing on her toes. "... Five Lady Mercys, one jar of wolfsbane, half a vessel of deadly nightshade, three phials of arsenic." She strained to maintain her posture as she pulled the final jar from the cabinet, "... and one amphule of arsine." She fell back to her heel, tilting her head towards her friend, her sorrel eyes meeting with citrines. "Did you get all that?" Her friend was sitting at the counter, leaning over a sheet of paper with a leg crossed and a pencil close to her lip. The girl at the counter had her carmine hair tied up in a high braided ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a pitch-dark crop top with fishnet sleeves and a sirwal. She even wore bold, black lipstick and smokey eyeshadow. By contrast, the girl by the cabinet looked akin to a porcelain doll with her heliotrope hair in a crispinette, lack of makeup, abstract floral patterned kirtle, and matching detachable sleeves with the ivory smock visible underneath. Over her kirtle, she donned a long, open front dress. She wore a silver choker with light azure cabochons and three strings of draped pearls. On her left middle finger sat an engraved argent ring and wrapped around the index on her right hand was an onyx ring. The chamber they occupied was about the size of an average kitchen, but filled with repurposed alchemical lab equipment and lit by several candelabras.

"Just a sec," the red-headed girl responded as she continued to write. "...and one arsine. Got it!"

The purple haired girl sighed with relief as her feet rested on the floor. "Thank you, Ursa!" She closed the doors and she turned the key in the first lock. "The palace chores have been piling up like crazy. I can barely find the time to relax," she asserted as she closed the third padlock, tugging it to be sure it was shut tight.

Afterwards she swirled around to face her companion, the back hem of her malachite gown almost dragged on the floor. "It's like… all I want to do is finish the next chapter of my book or practice playing the mandolin and something always comes up. Once I was re-reading "Married to the Moblin'' and right when I was about to get to the part where Orille commits the affair, someone knocked on my bedroom door and told me to wash the dishes," Ashia said in an exasperated tone.

"Yeah! No worries! You need a break, Ashia; you've been working so hard these days. I worry that you overexert yourself sometimes and that people demand too much from you," Ursa expressed as she doodled around the list she jotted down.

Ashia pulled out the stool from across from her friend and sank into it. She fingered the pearl laced nets of her crispinette, "It often feels that way! On one hand I want to make myself useful and earn my keep. But on the other, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of."

"You should bring it up with Lord Vaati or someone of high ranking. You're not anyone's slave - you are able to determine your own boundaries." Ursa declared. "Let them know what's going on and let them deal with it." Ashia nodded her head. "Anyway, have you heard about the group of people camping up in the Northern Forest?" Ursa's left arm rested on the counter while her right hand dropped to her knee. "I heard there's going to be a reconnaissance group being sent to spy on them."

Ashia's eyes sank and she straightened up, Ursa rested her elbows on the counter, clasped her hands together and placed her chin on top. "Yes, I've heard about it. My brother volunteered to go as a medic."

Ursa's eyes bulged and her eyebrows shot up. "He did?! When did he tell you, what happened?"

"Well…" Ashia paused to adjust her gown. "I was repairing some torn clothes when he knocked on the archway. He had a somber look on his face when he asked if I had a moment."

"Okay, so he told you in person and not through a messenger. That's good at least. I'd have been mad if he did that."

Ashia gave her friend a soft smile, though she was unable to conceal her anxiety. "Not to worry, he'd never do that to me. I'd have given him hell if he did." She couldn't help but imagine herself shaking her fist and saying shame on you, you bastard! She thought to herself, if he ever left without telling anyone and was gone for months on end, then comes back and expects everything to be normal - he would absolutely deserve it. Her smile fell and she stopped to readjust her seat.

"Anywho, we went into a parlor. And he told me that he signed up to go into the forest with the recon group as one of their doctors. I asked him if he's leaving because he's frustrated with dealing with idiots. He said that's a part of it, it's also because he wanted to challenge himself and study the new group of humans." Ashia put her hands on the counter top and clasped her hands together. "I asked him how he would survive in the untamed and uncharted wilderness with a small group. After he gave me a long and comprehensive breakdown of how everything would work, I asked him if he would be allowed to send letters to me. He said yes and that he would write as often as he can, which would probably be weekly."

Ursa listened silently, processing the information she was hearing. "When did he tell you all this?"

"Yesterday night."

Ursa leaned back slightly. "You know, I get the sense that he's more worried about you than himself, based on his serious expression, his answers to your questions and his promise to write as time allows," she sympathetically responded.

"It's funny you say that because he asked me if I would be okay up here. He said that if anyone tries to put me in a dangerous situation, I should escape and inform the King or Lord Vaati, or someone. I was like I should be alright. I know some magic and if worse comes to worse I can… stir some poison into their tea," she said in a playful manner. Ashia leaned back in a similar fashion to Ursa. "It's odd. I've never felt like I was in peril of losing my life. I'm not sure why he would say that. Still… I'll always accept reminders."

Ursa leaned forward, crossing her left leg over her right. "Well, I mean it makes sense as to why. You answer to the King directly. That high status could make you vulnerable to kidnappers, but that wouldn't be likely since…"

Ashia was listening halfway, unconsciously her mind wandered to that time when she was hanging out in the apothecary's office. She had asked her brother for advice on what to do should she be kidnapped. Distinctly, she remembered he told her not to get violent. If she was abducted, she should watch the behavior of her captors and keep herself healthy. And not to resist them as they could easily overpower her.

"Ashia?" Ursa stared at her expectantly while her fingers interlocked. She doesn't normally do this, only when she is depressed or descending into a spiral of worry. Ursa thought to herself.

She snapped back into the present. "Sorry, I just got lost in thought." She focused back on Ursa. "Let's see him off tomorrow."

"Good idea." Ursa figured that now would be a good time to switch subjects seeing how it was getting her companion down. "I've been meaning to ask you, how do these poisons work exactly?

"It depends on what kind of toxin you are using." Ashia turned her gaze back towards the cabinet, grateful for the change in topic. "I'm not allowed to give out specific recipes and details, but I can paint a hazy picture for you. There are non-mortiferous and noxious poisons. If using a lethal poison, first you must decide how you want your target to die or what the situation calls for. Second, determine how much you require. Some poisons are highly concentrated, meaning you only need a tiny fraction to kill. Death can be brought about in any mix of slow, rapid, painful or painless. Lady Mercy is a type of venom that works in under five minutes, what's more the victim feels no pain. They just drift off into eternal sleep."

Ashia opened up a cabinet door and handed her a small bottle, telling her it was an incomplete Lady Mercy although it would be a full dose. Ursa took one glance at it and set it on the surface. "Must be popular for wet work," she noted, sliding it further and further away.

"It is. It's also the "go to" for euthenasia and suicide." Although, technically anything can be used for suicide. Ashia faced Ursa once more. "There are toxins which the mark doesn't feel anything all the while they work very slowly. That's good for when you need to kill someone without them suspecting. If you slay them immediately people around them will get suspicious and seek you out." She picked up her lace and mahogany fan from the counter, beginning to fiddle around with the guards and sticks. "If you are feeling particularly sadistic," Ashia's thoughts drift back to a time when a friend's shirt was torn off and three men surrounded her, "there are options. Cuthane comes from the seeds of a specific plant native to southern Labrynna. When ingested, it causes great agony combined with muscle spasms and contortions before killing them within the hour. Then there's Death's Breath. It's a special type of gaseous arsenic that can take an hour or two to finish off your targets."

She stopped to collect her thoughts. "Before I continue, I need to know. What do you know about the Hyrulean Civil War?"

"I know a little bit about it," confessed Ursa, remembering the times when she dozed off in history class. The lessons in school that stayed with her most were of combat, self defense and gymnastics. "It was supposed to be about the Triforce and how everyone wanted it. There was a lot of fighting between organized factions and lone rogues… there was the battle of Death Mountain… the siege of Gerudo Fortress … the skirmish at Castle Town… a few assassinations here and there. It all ended when the Royal Family united Hyrule under one banner."

"That's the basic gist of it. You brought up assassinations, there's one that stands out among the rest." Ashia began to fan herself at this point. "So before Hyrule had a monarchy, it had an oligarchy - which was infamously corrupt. They would pocket tax rupees for themselves, frequently lie to the citizens, just overall neglect the public's needs, that sort of thing. Now, during the Civil War, some high ranking government officials along with their wives were gathered in the Villa Floria for a banquet. The event was planned months in advance and the rebels intercepted it. This was their chance to do away with some of their worst enemies; to pull it off they sent in some assassins disguised as servants. At first, the guests didn't notice anything off. It wasn't until they noticed that they were locked in the grand hall that it dawned on them what was actually going on." As she spoke, she folded her fan and crossed her ankles. "But, it was too late, one of the pluggers threw in a bottle of Death's Breath," she flicked her index finger to Ursa at the mention of one. "The assassins watched what unfolded behind those doors through the high windows…"

"Wait, I think I know this story!" Ursa exclaimed, "They threw in a bottle of the stuff and it filled the whole room, killing everyone within an hour and a half. Afterwards, they stole every war document they could. I think they burned the place down, but I may be getting my history mixed up. It was supposed to be one of the most brutal assassination jobs in history."

"Yep, that's the essence of the event. But, you're leaving out some important details. The room's occupants did everything in their power to escape, including breaking down the doors, smashing the windows with chairs and even clawing at the walls." Which meant that either they were hallucinating or their vision wasn't working properly. Apparently if a person has enough arsenic in them, they see green. "An hour and a half later, everyone was dead, like you just said. The liquidators broke one of the windows to air out the hall, since Death's Breath doesn't just dissipate after it takes its victims. They returned to the scene to check the wreckage; The moment they opened the doors, some corpses piled up at their feet. After they cleared them away, they discovered that the dead had veridian rashes all over their remains, some of them had bloody fingers from scratching so hard. Most eerily, the scleras of all the cadavers were a bright shade of green. Like you said, the executioners stole all the documents from the office and the war room they needed and fled the manor. They didn't torch the mansion so as to send a message to the government - you might be thinking of the burning of the Forest Shrine since it was in the same region months after."

Ursa sat in thought. "I think you're probably right about that. Regardless, still freaky."

"Yeah, some wars have no 'good guys'," Ashia emphasized. "What's more is that there were a lot of people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Such is the way of war," Ursa simply responded, shaking her head slowly. "Do you ever worry that your poisons will be used against you?"

"I do sometimes." Ashia shrugs. "I lock up the cabinet and put a magic seal on this room whenever I leave it. I'm concerned it isn't enough, still I don't know what else I can do about it."

Ursa perked up, an idea shooting across her mind like a comet in the night sky. "Maybe you should install booby traps?"

Shaking her head, Ashia responded with, "I thought of that, the issue is that I would have to disarm the trap every time I came into the room. It would get annoying and tedious whenever I need to get one thing."

Ursa pursed her lips. She could see where Ashia was coming from. In spite of that, "I think you should set something up anyway. It's better to be safe than sorry, maybe it can be as simple as pressing a button to disarm the trap."

Ashia squinted her left eye. "I don't know. The only things I can come up with are a bucket of rocks or a weighted net falling on top of the intruder. So how would disarming by button go? Would the button release the trip-wire, thus making it safe to enter?"

Taking her pencil, Ursa began to sketch out her idea. "You should probably ask a confinement specialist, but here's what I have in mind..."

As she was about to speak, they heard the idiosyncratic sound of metallic footsteps coming down the hallway outside. They both watched with curiosity as the long shadow on the wall shrank and shifted towards the floor as it got closer. The figure filled the doorway and spoke, "Lady Ashia, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything for you, Lord Vaati." Ashia stood from her seat to curtsy him. Ursa continued to sit, confused as to why anyone would need to curtsy when it wasn't a special occasion. Nonetheless, she decided to show respect by bowing her head momentarily.

"I have a special recipe I need you to make."

Figuring that Ashia was going to be occupied with her task, Ursa decided to make her way to the armory. Her scimitar and khopesh needed to be sharpened and she wanted to check and see if they were ready. She waltzed in to see a moblin hunched over a whetstone in the center of the room, sharpening a battle axe. The room was almost as large as a ballroom, the walls were decked out in every melee weapon imaginable. Laying on stands scattered like islands were long-ranged weapons. Waving her hand, Ursa called out, "Hey Jax! Are my swords ready?"

Jax looked up and responded, "No, they won't be ready for another two hours." He stood up and walked over to a basket a few feet away from it. He knelt down, digging through it. "However, I finished fixing the hook blade on your gauntlet." He picked it out and tossed it to her. "You should practice with that while you wait."

With an "alrighty", she made her way to the training grounds. To her, it was a playground. It had an obstacle course complete with monkey bars, climbable walls, targets and dummies. All that's missing is a slide. The yard was devoid of fellow soldiers. Assuming they were on a mission, she strode over to the climbing wall and gazed upwards. It had painted rocks that gradually camouflaged with the natural granite slab as it went up as well as vines.

Slipping her armored glove on, she dryly mumbled to herself, "Time for pain."

As she predicted, she landed on her rump over a quarter of a hundred times. Motherfuck! Ursa thought as she rubbed the small of her back. She couldn't stop now though, her veins were pumped full of adrenaline. I can't get my timing right. Maybe I should come back to this later and spar for now?

Borrowing some practice swords, she stood in front of a dummy and began slashing at it. Using the hookblade, she swung herself over the dummy's head and then slashed at its back. Right as she was piggybacking it and about to cut its "throat",a gruff voice called out, "Looks like you need a sparring partner." Peering over the "shoulder", Ursa saw Jax carrying her weapons in one hand, as well as his Raven's Beak in the other. He wore his protective gear and had some spare leather armor on his shoulder. He placed the swords on the grass and tossed the gear to Ursa, giving her a moment to put it on. "Hit me with your best shot," he called out as he shifted into a defense position.

Ursa leapt forward, spinning in the air. As the sword was coming down, he blocked her strike and whirled his polearm in her direction. She ducked and backflipped out of his range. She squatted on the ground, waiting like a beast on a hunt. Right when Jax was about to swing at her, she rolled at a cheetah-like speed behind him to poke his back. He jolted. He reversed to face her. "Very good, let's see you deflect this," he goaded as he thrust his warhammer in her direction. Flexing backwards, she managed to knock his weapon onto the ground with her feet. Which made Jax lose his balance and kneel on the ground. Before he could react, Ursa swiftly stood on his Raven's Beak and gently placed her foot on his wrist. "Not bad… not bad at all." She stepped off and Jax rose to his hooves. "Be careful when acting before thinking," he cautioned, "although there are times for it, such recklessness can get you killed in the battlefield."

Ursa wasn't sure why she would need to be reminded of that fact. Of course she knew that if she was in battle, she would have to process information on the fly and predict her enemy's moves in order to act! She also understood that he was only trying to help and didn't want to see her injured or worse. All she could mutter in response was, "M'kay."

"Why don't you show me the helm-splitter technique on that dummy?" He pointed towards the dummy with its innards oozing out. "I'd like to see if I did your swords justice."

"I'm on it," Ursa called out excitedly as she dashed to grab her swords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> So, this was a difficult chapter for me to write. I had to figure out who the focus should be on and what I wanted the chapter to do. Then I had to figure out how I wanted to actually write it. I originally wanted Ashia to be the sole focus of this chapter, but I figured that I wasn't skilled enough to pull off a chapter where one character was the central focus, where a good deal would be spent in her thoughts. I ended up spontaneously writing in Ursa so there'd be another character to bounce off of. But that presented its own problems when she needed more character development. I also got some of my friends to critique this chapter too. One friend suggested I add in a trigger warning for the discussion on suicide, my other friend disagreed. I ended up putting it in just to play it safe since I don't know who's out there.
> 
> A couple of fun facts about writing Ashia and Ursa.
> 
> Ashia was originally named Anda, I changed it when I wanted a better name. So I went to a Hyrulean name generator to get ideas, one of the suggestions was Ashia. Turns out Ashia is a real name. It is of Arabic origin and it means "Life and Hope." It is pronounced ah-SHEE-ah.
> 
> She is wearing a green renaissance style dress because I took inspiration from a 19th century trend where clothes (and other goods) were dyed in Arsenic to achieve an emerald green color. I thought it would be a wonderful way at hinting at her character.
> 
> Ursa is Latin for "little she-bear". I picked the name off the top of my head.
> 
> I originally thought of her as being a necromancer, which is why she's decked out in all black. She even had a skull necklace! But, Fenrir013 said it made much more sense for Ursa to be a warrior and I heeded his suggestion. I scrapped the skull necklace, but kept everything else because I liked the idea of a warrior with a gothic aesthetic.
> 
> And some dark facts
> 
> Cuthane is based on the poison Strychnine, A.K.A "Gopher Killer". Nazis would torture prisoners using this.
> 
> There are also more male than female poisoners. Although, in either a man or woman's hands, it's an "equal opportunity killer". For more info, read: 2013/01/the-myth-of-the-female-poisoner/
> 
> According to Psychology Today, the profile of a poisoner is that of someone who lacks empathy, feels inadequete, incredibly crafty and creative, physically non-confrontational, manipulative and childish. If you'd like to read more: us/blog/the-human-equation/201207/psychological-profile-poisoner

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this story on Deviantart, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad.  
> This chapter was edited by my friend/ex.


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